Research Informed Schools

Chairperson

Paul attributes much of his innovation in teaching and learning to 20 years of summer camp experience. He also has experience in school improvement with US federal education programmes, the Minnesota Center for Reading Research, and classroom teaching from elementary through graduate school in the US and internationally.

He began building Leysin American School Educational Research in 2009. Since 2015 he has taught in administration, international education, and teacher licensure, first at Endicott College and since 2020 with Moreland University. He is on the steering committee of Outstanding Schools, a member of the research group of the International School Network, and a frequent blogger with The International Educator.

Paul has a PhD in Curriculum & Instruction from the University of Minnesota.

Hermione Paddle has been teaching for ten years at the Bavarian International School in Munich. She has taught MYP and DP English and Theory of Knowledge and has worked as Department Head and as the Assistant MYP Coordinator. She has done work for the IB in curriculum development for the Extended Essay and produced resources for IB Exchange. Her Masters is in Literacy and she is currently completing her PhD at University College London exploring interdisciplinary learning in international schools.

Mhairi Ziegler is Head of Science at Munich International School where she teaches MYP Science and DP Chemistry. She has worked with colleagues across Munich International School to develop an inquiry approach to professional growth to be launched at the start of the 2024-25 school year. Mhairi has recently completed the CTeach qualification from the Chartered College of Teaching in the UK, a programme that connects teaching and educational research and gives teachers the expertise to make informed decisions in the classroom. She has a PhD in Chemistry from the University of Edinburgh.

Emel Uysal Ünsal has been working at the Health and Education Foundation (SEV) for the past 10 years. SEV is the umbrella organization of American High Schools and K-8 schools in three different provinces in Turkey, with a history dating back 150 years. Emel is currently the Head of Research and Impact at SEV. Prior to that, she worked for a long time in the field of teacher professional development and provided teacher trainings. She holds a PhD in science education from Middle East Technical University, Ankara.

At SEV Research & Impact, in addition to conducting and publishing educational research to inform and support schools, she designed a professional development program with her colleagues at SEV to support teachers’ research skills and enable them to conduct their own action research. She is currently working with teachers to support their research.